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And on to the upper hull. And the sponson's have been fitted as have the supports for the schurzen.
DSC_1249_9643 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
And making notes for those who may build this kit in the future (I'll definitely be building more!)
DSC_1248_9642 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr

Made some small progress over the weekend, by getting the swing arms installed on the vehicle. There are three types of swing arms, so its wise to study the instructions carefully.
DSC_1244_9639 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
DSC_1245_9640 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr

Right some more progress on the Panther while bits for the King Tiger are being prepared.
Bump stops added the lower hull, and hull prepared for the application Zimmerit decals. Said decals applied and trimmed. The beauty of these is that they apply like normal decals, but can be set in place with either modelling glue or super glue. Once the hull has been painted and weathered, and with the running gear in place the zimmerit will hardly be seen.
DSC_1237_9632 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
DSC_1238_9633 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
DSC_1239_9634 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
DSC_1240_9635 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
While the Zimmerit was settling down I worked on the upper hull. The side and front glacis plate are all seperate and all butt up nicely together.
DSC_1241_9636 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
DSC_1242_9637 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
There is also a discrepancy in the instructions (first one I've noticed so far), these two domes which go on the engine compartment access hatch are actually parts F18, not F19 as marked.
DSC_1243_9638 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr

Part One assembly of lower hull and fitting of final drive's, escape hatch and hull rear plate.
So while waiting for paint to dry and glue to set on other projects, I began assembly of the lower hull.
Lower hull assembled by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
Escape hatch by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
Lower hull.1 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
On the other side of the lower hull is a reinforced swing arm housing.
Lower hull.2 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
Rear hull plate by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
I'll leave this overnight, and next time I'll add the bump stops and swing arms for the Idler wheels.

Well wasn't going to start this yet, but receiving the Zimmerit decals today I thought oh go on then.
The usual designation for the Panther was the SdKfz.171 Panzerkampfwagen V Panther, but in February 1944 Herr Hitler ordered the Roman numeral V to be removed, so from February, 1944 it was known as the PzKpfw.Panther. The Sd.Kfz.182 is the designation for the Panzerbefehlswagen or Command tank. The Ausf.A was the second version of the Panther, of which 2,000 were built, following on from the Ausf.D (the initial production version). The Ausf.A was in production from August, 1943 to May, 1944, and were produced by MAN, Daimler-Benz, Demag and MNH.
There were 319 SdKfz.171's converted to SdKfz.182 Panzerbefehlswagen which featured extra radio's and reduced ammunition.
The above information come Jentz and Doyle
Box art by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
Colour profiles by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
Instruction book by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
Lower hull by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
Metal barrel and clear pieces by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
PE pieces by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
Polycaps by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
The frame shown below is one of a pair
Roadwheels, drive wheels, Idlers and other bits and pieces by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
Sponsons, jigs for tracks and upper hull fittings by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
tow cable, decals and other PE pieces by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
There are three frames of tracks and guide horns
tracks and guide horns by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
Turret and fittings by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
Upper hull attachments and accessories by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
Upper hull by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
Zimmerit decals by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr

So got bored working on ammunition for the fighting compartment, so yesterday saw me starting to fit out the turret.
DSC_1209_9606 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr
DSC_1212_9607 by Darren Greenwood, on Flickr